featured

*Europe's manufacturing center shifts to Germany and hinterland. *UK, France, Spain and Italy seen losing industrial capacity. BRUSSELS, March 15- Once depicted as a "Blue Banana" stretching from Manchester to Milan, Europe's industrial heartland has moved eastwards just as its political center of gravity has shifted to Germany.

Japan's core machinery orders rose for a second straight month in November in a sign that companies may gradually increase capital spending, but uncertainty over the global economy could continue to pressure the Bank of Japan to ease policy.

Manufacturing activity in Asia expanded in December as China's economy showed signs of revival but export demand was uneven, pointing to further sluggish growth for the region, business surveys suggest.

China’s October Inflation numbers came in below expectations, proving to be of little concern to the country’s policymakers at the moment, but economists warn the inflation rate could double by mid-2013 as growth in the world’s second largest economy gains momentum.